Plate for controlling the filling density in plant containers before or during an automatic making of holes for plants in the filling compound

ABSTRACT

A plate having an upwardly projecting offset for shaping soil inserted into a plant-receiving pot. The plate stacks the soil around the plant-receiving opening to make same available for filling same.

D United States Patent 1151 3,659,380 Mayer 1451 May 2, 1972 [54] PLATEFOR CONTROLLING THE [56] References Cited FILLING DENSITY IN PLANTUNITED STATES PATENTS CONTAINERS BEFORE OR DURING AN 2,444,744 7/1948Mossholder ..47/37 AUTOMATIC MAKING OF HOLES FOR 2,771,709 11/1956Ritter ..47/1

PLANTS IN THE FILLING COMPOUND 2,826,003 3/1958 Oki et a1. ..47/1 [72]Inventor: Georg Mayer, Bolheim, Germany FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS[73] Assignee: Firma Mayer KG, Heidenheim Me -g l- 751,782 1/1967 Canada..47/1

stetten, Germany 570,318 9/1931 Germany ....47/37 638,100 11/1936Germany ....47/37 [221 1969 606,046 6/1960 Italy ....47/37 [21] A N859,538 329,644 6/1958 Switzerland ..47/37 Primary Examiner-Robert E.Bagwill Attorney-Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn [30] Foreign ApplicationPriority Data [57] ABSTRACT Sept. 20, 1968 Germany ..P 17 82 587.5

v A plate having an upwardly projectlng offset for shaping soil insertedinto a plant-receiving pot. The plate stacks the soil around theplant-receiving opening to make same available for [52] U.S. Cl ..47/1filli same [51] Int. Cl .A0lg 9/08 [58] Field of Search ..47/1, 37 4Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PLATE FOR CONTROLLING THE FILLING DENSITY INPLANT CONTAINERS BEFORE OR DURING AN AUTOMATIC MAKING'OF HOLES FORPLANTS IN THE FILLING CONIPOUND The invention relates to a plate forcontrolling the filling density of material in plant containers beforeand during an automatic making of plant-receiving holes therein.

ln a potting and repotting machine in which the openings for the plantsare made by means of a drill, it is already known to provide a platewhich is placed onto the soil inside the plant container during themaking of said openings. The plate presses the soil around the openingfor the plant during the drilling operation, however, when the plate islifted off it takes with it the soil which has been drilled out.Therefore, after the drilling operation, the soil is piled up around theopening for the plant at most to the upper edge of the plant container.No soil reserve is provided in order to fill out a root mass insertedinto the hole for the plant or to cover the surface of an inserted rootball. This requires in such cases the supply of additional soil. Thus,it is not possible with this plate means to control the filling densityaccording to the needs of the plants to be inserted.

Furthermore, a plate is known which during the drilling operation issupported against the edge of the plant container in which the drillingtakes place. The plate is dimensioned so that it projects over the edgeof the plant container both inwardly and outwardly. This plate does nothelp to compact the soil in the container. It also removes the soilwhich has been drilled out during the forming of a plant-receivingopening and does not leave a soil reserve available at the edge of thepot.

It is the purpose of the invention to construct a plate of theabove-described type with simple means in such a manner as to leave,after the plate has been removed, a certain amount of soil in the plantcontainer to provide the desired filling density.

To attain this purpose the invention provides that the plate has atleast one offset projecting at its upper side, namely the side facingaway from the plant container, for receiving and forming compound piledabove the plant container.

The offset permits the formation of a soil reserve which projects overthe edge of the container and can be used after the insertion of a plantfor filling the hole with soil and pressing same into place. The fillingquantity is thereby determined in a simple manner by the holdingcapacity of the offset. lf during the filling of the soil into the plantcontainer, the soil is already piled above its edge, then the placementof the plate on the soil effects not only a compacting of the contentsof the container but also a forming and packing down of the piled-upsoil. The plant container is thus prepared in such a manner that it can,if necessary, be provided with an opening for a plant without the plateand the plate can be lifted ofi again.

The offset has advantageously a cross section which converges away fromthe plate and is preferably circularly shaped. The piled-up soil thusforms a dome, a shape which during and after the removal of the plate isparticularly stable. A breaking-off of soil is unlikely even during atransporting of the plant'container. During and after the making of thehole for the plant, and during other handling thereof, the piled-up soilfalls primarily into the inside of the plant container. In this mannerthe predetermined filling density is maintained.

.The plate can advantageously be constructed as a multiple I platehaving a plurality of offsets which are spaced apart from each other forsimultaneous cooperation thereof with several single plant containers orone multiple plant container. The plate thus makes possible in a simplemanner a further rationalizing of the potting and repotting method, inparticular where formed as so-called multiple plates which can receive alarge number of plants. In this manner it is possible to meet easily thebusy seasons which occur in nurseries due to the cycle of plant growth.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the plant of the invention,said plate has at its side facing the plant container one or moreprojections for making the holes for the plants. The soil which isremoved during the penetration of the projection or the projections canaccumulate under the offset. After the plate is removed and the planthas been inserted, a slight tapping of the plant container is sufficientto permit the accumulated soil to slide into the remaining open areas.Thus, the potting and repotting process is made simple, quick and cleanfor both single and multiple plates.

The projections are advantageously arranged in the offset preferablyconcentrically. Such a plate is particularly advantageous for the by farmostly used purpose of making of one concentric plant-receiving hole perplant container. The filling material of the plant container is evenlydistributed and compacted both in the container and under the offset.The upper side of the offset offers a good reception surface ofengagement surface for the pressure element which effects the loweringof the plate and the penetration of the projection into the fillingmaterial.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the plate of theinvention, the offset is constructed as an annular wall which has anopening through its top and which permits the making of the hole for theplant by means of a drill. Underneath the annular wall at least aportion of the soil which is removed during the drilling operation isarranged in a mass of soil which after the removal of the drill and theplate can be used for filling. The annular wall can also be used tomaintain the shape of an already existing mass of soil during thedrilling process if the plant container was already prepared by a plateof the afore-discussed form. Since the annular wall substantiallyprevents the throwing of drilled-out soil, the potting and repottingmachine remains clean. Moreover, valuable soil is saved. Furthermore,the annular wall forms a protection for the worktool, in particular acontact protection for the drill. Multiple plates can also be providedwith offsets open on top in form of annular walls. They make possiblethe use of multiple drilling machines for simultaneously making holesfor plants in several single containers or one multiple plant contamer.

The upper diameter of the annular wall can have a dimension which isadjusted to the drill diameter to achieve a certain filling density inthe plant container. The amount of soil which is removed from the potduring the drilling operation depends on the opening which remainsbetween the drill and the annular wall opening. Depending on whether theplant'to be inserted requires a loose or a compacted soil, by suitablyselecting the diameter of the upper annular wall the amount of theremoved soil can be observed and thus the amount of the remaining soilcan be determined.

A further possibility of determining the filling density of the plantcontainer with the plate of the invention lies in the selection of thediameter of the annular wall at a portion thereof which is close to theplate. The diameter can be smaller than the upper diameter of the platecontainer through which a small quantity of soil is obtained. Moreover,this embodiment makes easier the construction of a so-called pouringedge.

The diameter of the annular wall adjacent the plate can be the same asthe upper diameter of the plant container and can thus make possible theconstruction of a larger mass of soil.

If, after the plant has been inserted, a particularly large amount ofsoil reserve is required whether it is for filling around a root ball ora repeated compacting of the container contents by pressing the soil, anembodiment of the plate is advantageous in that the diameter of theannular wall adjacent the plate is larger than the upper diameterof theplant container and the plant container is enclosed by an annularprotection plate at least until the insertion of the plant. The mass ofsoil thus extends beyond the plant container and soil piles upadditionally on the annular protection plate, which soil can easily bemoved into the container after the insertion of the plant. In a multipleplant container the connecting surfaces have the function of the annularprotections.

An advantageous further development of the plate of the inventionprovides that at the underside of the plate there are arranged spacedsupports approximately perpendicularly to said plate limiting itsmovement toward the plant container. The

spacer supports take over a portion of the support pressure of the plateand thus relieve the plant container. Damage to the edge which wouldotherwise be unavoidable due to rough dimension tolerances of suchcontainers are avoided in this manner. This protection is particularlyimportant in the case of plant containers which are made ofpressure-sensitive plastic and are being used in progressively largernumbers, for example, Styropor. The spaced supports can be mounted toboth single and multiple plates.

The spaced supports can advantageously be mounted adjustably in heightand/or removably to the plate. They can thus be adjusted in a simplemanner to the respective purpose of use, particularly to the height ofthe plant container.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a plate of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional viewof a filled plant container with a holefor a plant, during the making of which hole the plate according to FIG.1 was used;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a plate of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a plant container with holes forplants, during the manufacture of which holes the plate of FIG. 3 wasused;

FIG. 5 is a broken cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of aplate of the invention used with a flower pot;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a further embodiment of a plate inconnection with flower pots and a drilling device;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a further plate in connection withflower pots; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a detail of a further embodiment of a plate on anenlarged scale.

The plate I illustrated in FIG. I has in its center an offset or hollow,frustum-shaped shell 2 which is constructed integrally with said plateas an annular wall and projects from same toward one side of the plate3. The edge of the annular wall 2 which is distant from the plate formsa rim 4 around a circular I opening 5. The annular wall is inclined withrespect to the plate in such a manner that its annular diameter a at theplate is larger than the diameter 12 of the opening 5. The rim 4 issloped toward the inside of theannular wall. The plate 1 has holes 6near its outer periphery which holes permit the plate to be mounted to apotting and repotting machine. FIG. 2 illustrates a flower pot 7, thefilling 8 of which has a hole 9 for a plant which was made by means of adrill potting and repotting device. Prior to the drilling operation, theplate 1 or the flower pot 7 illustrated in F IG. 2 was moved in such amanner that the plate 1 was supported against the upper edge 10 of theflower pot and pressed same against a support (not illustrated) thereof.The flower pot soil raised or removed during the drilling of the hole 9for the plant was thereby prevented by the ring wall 2 from being liftedout of the opening 5. It was instead formed to comprise the mass of soil11 which projects with a conical outer wall above the upper edge 10 ofthe flower pot 7 and same remained in this form after the plate 1 waslifted from the flower pot 7 or the flower pot 7 was lowered. The massof soil 1! is a reserve of flower pot soil which after the plant isinserted into the hole 9 for the plant can be used to finish filling thehole and to cover root or pot balls.

FIG. 3 illustrates a further embodiment 1a of a plate of the inventionwhich has the same annular wall 2 as the embodiment of FIG. 1. Besidesthe annular wall 2, in the cross-sectional plane on both sides thereof,tapped holes 12 are arranged in the plate through each of which holes ascrew 13 is inserted. Each screw 13 is screwed into a projection 14which is tapered conically downwardly away from the plate and is roundedoff at the lower end.

The projections 14 are used for penetrating into the filling 8 of aflower pot 7a and for making holes 90 therein when the plate 1a and theflower pot 7a are moved together. FIG. 4 illustrates the flower pot 7awith the holes 9a for the plants after the holes have been made. Theflower pot 7a has thereby an upper inner diameter 0 which is larger thanthe diameter a of the annular wall 2 at the plate. The flower pot soilwhich is removed during the formation of the holes 9a for the plantsforms a mass of soil 1 1' with conical sidewalls underneath the annularwall 2, which mass of soil 11 remains after the plate la is lifted orthe flower pot 7a is lowered.

The plate 1a has near its outer edge, like the plate 1, holes 6 whichpermit their mounting to a potting and repotting device.

FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of a flower pot 7 into the filling 8 ofwhich a hole 9 for a plant has been drilled. The upper edge 10 of theflower pot 7 is enclosed with a partially illustrated collector platevor annular protection plate 15 before the drilling operation whichprotection plate can be connected to the pot or its mounting in anydesired manner, not illustrated. A plate 1b is supported on the annularprojection plate 15, the annular wall 2b of which-plate has at the platean annular diameter a which is larger than the upper inner diameter c ofthe flower pot 7. In this manner, during the drilling operation, a massof soil 1 1b can be formed above the flower pot 7 which rests partly onthe annular protection plate 15 and forms a particularly large soilreserve.

The schematic illustrations of FIGS. 6 and 7 show multiple plates 16 or17 which permit the simultaneous making of holes for plants in severalplant containers, here flower pots 7. In FIG. 6, the plate 16 hasannular walls 2, three of which are illustrated. The drilling of theholes for the plants is done by a multiple drilling device 18 withdrills 19, three of which are illustrated.

The multiple plate 17 of FIG. 7 has closed offsets 2'. They have theshape of a truncated cone with a circular cross section. At theunderside of its upper surface 20 there is provided a projection 14 eachwhich is concentric to the offset, said projection making a hole for aplant into the flower pot 7 during the placement of the plate 17 againstthe flower pot. The pressure required for pressing the projections 14into the flowerpot 7 is applied onto the plate 17 through pressuredevices 21 which are connected to plate in any convenient manner, notillustrated, and to a pressing device, not illustrated. To relieve theload from the flower pots during the pressing in of the projections,spaced supports 22 are arranged between the offsets 2' at the'lower sideof the plate 17. They are supported on a support surface 23 in the endposition of the plate 17 and receive the greatest amount of thepressure. FIG. 8 illustrates in an enlarged scale or cross section of apart of a plate 17 with a spaced support 22' which is arrangedadjustably in height and removably on said plate. A sleeve 23 is mountedto said plate 17 and is made of one piece therewith. The spaced pieces22 are held adjustably in height by means of a clamping screw 24 in saidsleeve 23.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments. The offsetcan be constructed either in an open or closed form with sidewalls whichare arched or perpendicular to the plate. The exemplary embodimentswhich are illustrated as single plates can all be provided with spacedsupports which are rigidly secured or are adjustable. To cooperate withsuch a plate, the annular projection can have openings for guiding thespaced supports therethrough. In place of the spaced supports,-oppositely arranged supports can also be mounted to the plates forspaced supports which are upwardly directed toward the adjustingsurfaces or the mounting of the plant container.

The plant containers each illustrated as a flower pot in the exemplaryembodiments can also be constructed as cups, bags or, in the casemultiple plates are used, also as multiple plant containers, forexample, so-called multiple plates.

All characteristics disclosed in the description and the drawingsincluding the structural details can also be important to the inventionin other combinations.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A device for controlling the filling density of filling material in aplant container during the provision of a plant receiving openingtherein, comprising:

a generally flat plate having an opening therethrough; said fillingmaterial. a hollow shell on said plate encircling and communicating 2. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein said shell is of a with saidopening, the outwardly opening end ofsaid shell t -s pe and isconcentric ith said opening. r m te f m aid plate h i a ll di h 3. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein said opening in said opening insaid plate; 5 said plate is smaller than the upper diameter of saidcontainer. a l li of projections secured to and extending away 4. Adevice according to claim 1 wherein said projections from said plate ona side thereof opposite said shell and are Spaced rad'any from theCenter lme ofsald being adapted to form said plant receiving openings in

1. A device for controlling the filling density of filling material in aplant container during the provision of a plant receiving openingtherein, comprising: a generally flat plate having an openingtherethrough; a hollow shell on said plate encircling and communicatingwith said opening, the outwardly opening end of said shell remote fromsaid plate having a smaller diameter than said opening in said plate; aplurality of projections secured to and extending away from said plateon a side thereof opposite said shell and being adapted to form saidplant receiving openings in said filling material.
 2. A device accordingto claim 1, wherein said shell is of a frustum-shape and is concentricwith said opening.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein saidopening in said plate is smaller than the upper diameter of saidcontainer.
 4. A device according to claim 1, wherein said projectionsare spaced radially from the center line of said shell.